Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-15
BUYING CLOTHES.
women who Buy Their Hus.
bands Clothes, and Vice Versa.

bands Clothes, and Vice Versa.
A young lady with manner com
pounded OF maidenly modesty and
matronly superiority which suggested
short experience of married life
walked into a down town gents fur.
nishing store the other day, accom-
panied by an elderly lady who might
have been her husbands mother-in.
law. The old lady deposited herself
upon a stool while the younger rar
her hand over pile of flannel shirts
in manner to display her perfect
familiarity with gentlemen's wearing
apparel.
"What's the price?" she asked Of
the smiling clerk.
"Three-'n-a-half, num-"
"Three dollars and a half Ism t
that high for undershirts
The clerk explained that the gar
ments she referred to were no under
shirts, but the woollen outer shirts
now 50 popular with gentlemen.
The lady blushed and looked to see
if any one else had observed her dis
play of ignorance.
"Well, of course; but l guess |
won't take those this time. Give me
half dozen gents white gauze under
shirts" Then with self-satisfied air
she ran her eyes over the stock of
long-legged and divers articles OF
doubtful and uncertain service in a
mans wardrobe.
"What size ?" asked the clerk. as he
ran his hand up the sides of the stock
of green pasteboard boxes.
"Oh, er-er-er, the usual size, OF
course" replied the lady.
"About -" hesitated the clerk,
and the young matron turned implor-
ing eyes upon her husbands mother
in-iaw and tried to look composed.
"Why = why - oh, forty-eight %
spoke up the old lady, plnnging into
the dilemma with a recklessness that
established her domestic standing.
"Is he very large MANI" asked
the clerk, hesitating with box half
off the shelf.
"About your size"
"Then l guess thirty-two will be
large enough" and the little man
stood on the counter to reach the
small sizes.
II never saw young married wo-
man who did not want to buy all her
husbands clothes for him." said the
clerk to a reporter, as the customer
slipped out of the store, with little
bundle under the arm. "AndI never
knew one who didn't think all mems
clothing was the same size. Those
shirts will be changed three times be-
fore the right fit is got. By the time
she has been married ten years,
though, she will know all about it.
Her husband won't buy collar for
himself. She will learn all the arts of
trade. She will have him COM
pletely measured, and will dictate the
size and texture of every garment.
She will keep him supplied with
clothes, and will not spend as much
money as he would"
"Do many women buy their hus-
bands clothes?" asked the reporter,
with premonition of the decline of
his domestic domination.
Lots of them. They begin by i'm
pressing their husbands with the idea
that women can buy cheaper than
men. They gradually bring about the
conviction that for man to attempt
to buy anything for himself would be
for him to recklessly throw himself
into the teeth of sharks. After that
she buys him 69-cent shirts, that don 7
fit in the neck, last years hats at half
price, and suits that have been re-
duced from $15 to So. He is forced to
acknowledge that he never before paid
80 little for an outfit, and the wife 8
reputation and future position is estab-
lished."
''Is it true that women can buy
cheaper?'
" No. They buy lower priced
goods, but no cheaper. The man
whose wife buys his clothes is nearly
always poorly dressed. There is no
style about him. OF course there are
exceptions, but they are rare. If you
see a man got up in Cheap John
fashion, with baggy trousers, a coat
that don't fit, with his collar and
neckband at variance, and under
sized cuffs, you may guess that his
wife dressed him."
1t is Just the contrary when man
has a fancy for buying his wife's
clothes," the clerk went on. "Such
men are rare. Most men are, or pro-
fess to be, sublimely ignorant of
ladies' APPAREL. Some, however, buy
nearly everything worn by wife or
daughters. Their excuse is that they
have good taste, and they always buy
expensive goods. l have two
such men in my mind just at
this moment; one is man of family
and buys for his wife and daughters.
He selects everything, from silk
dress to ribbons and fine undergar-
ments. He buys even the baby
clothes. The other is young man,
whose mothers or sisters would not
buy bonnot or dress without his be-
ing present to approve. These men
are exceptions. Most of those who
come to buy ladies' apparel affect to
know nothing of the subject, and
throw themselves upon the tender
mercies of the lady clerks. They be-
come confidential. in their ignorance,
and we have to be very watchful to
see that the young ladies do not trick
them. These ignorant gentlemen
shoppers are generally those whose
wives are out of town, and they take
the young ladies of the stores into
their confidence and ask their advice.
1t generally takes them longer to buy
what they want than it would an Or
dinary customer.
"Nearly every man whose family is
out of the city becomes buyer of fe-
male apparel in the summer time. II
they never did any such shopping be-
fore and know nothing ABOUT it, they
become very assidious when their
wives are out of town. But these never
become SO expert as to be Independent
of the saleswoman. They generally
come with long list of things they
are to buy for their wife, who has sent
the list by mail. They declare at once
that they would not know any OF the
articles by sight or description, so the
mad and his list are placed in charge
Of ono Of the Young ladies' who is in.